Can you make a difference? Yes! We can all make a difference and it doesn’t cost anything except our time and effort. There are simple things we can all do to help conserve energy and to preserve our environment.
Listed below are 10 simple things we can all incorporate into our daily lives that save energy, preserve our natural resources and help clean up our environment. Just start with one or two of the following and once you have made them a part of your daily routine then move on to another one and then another one until you have completed this list. We will continually update this “TIPS” page with new ideas, so check back in another month and see what else you can do to help!
1. Keep tire pressure on your vehicle up to manufacturer’s standards and improve gas mileage by 3.3% and have equivalent savings of $.07 per gallon
2. Start replacing burned out light bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs. They last up to 10 times longer and can save up to 75% on your lighting energy bill.
3. Reduce junk mail: contact Mail Preference Service @ the Direct Marketing Association and cancel unwanted credit card solicitations. Get more info @ www.reduce.org. Cancel unwanted catalogs and magazines by calling their 800 number to have your name removed from the mailing list.
4. Use low flow shower heads in all showers and reduce water usage by 50-70%.
5. Fix leaky faucets. One drip per second amounts to 200 gallons of water per month.
6. Clean your air conditioner filters on a monthly basis and replace fiberglass filters with aluminum, washable filters.
7. Set the thermostat on your hot water heater to 140 degrees if you have an electric heater and 120 degrees if you have a gas heater.
8. Drain a gallon of water from the hot water heater each year to remove sediment and improve the heating efficiency of the heater.
9. Re-use plastic grocery bags on your next shopping trip, as bathroom trashcan liners and for pet pooper scooper bags.
10. Reduce shower time. Two gallons of water are used for every minute in the shower.
There are many more ways to help and you can also check out the following web links for more helpful hints:
www.energyright.com
www.Time.com/environment
www.stopglobalwarming.msn.com www.lifestyle.msn.com/green
